Savoursmiths Champers and Serrano Chilli

Oh dear, I'm not at all sure this brand of crisps was created with me in mind. Champers flavour crisps? Which is to say Champagne flavour.

I don't think I know anyone who calls Champagne "champers" but unless you make your wine using the methode champenoise actually in the Champagne region of France you use the word "champagne" at your peril. The lawyers who protect the Champagne brand are just as jealous of the name as those who protect Disney or Elvis's estate. So maybe it's best to stick to Champers.

Even though the flavour of these crisps derives partly from Champagne. Which I find quite hard to believe because I thought they tasted of soap. Soap with a hearty kick of chilli which was a nice touch. Not thrilled with the soap flavour though. And Dutch taste tester? She thought these crisps tasted of banana.

The crunch is nice but....

The packet says tastier than the cat's miaow and Cool cats love to live on the edge, so we've turned up the heat with this flavour, adding a scream of Serrano Chilli to the fizz of Bubbly & pinch of Sea Salt. The bee's knees have nothing on these! No, not sure about that.

Actually I don't usually drink Champagne in England because unless the Chef has chosen the bottle himself it can be quite poor quality. We are lucky enough to drive through the region of Champagne several times a year and some of the hotels keep a dazzling array of different wines in their cellars. They don't baulk at opening a magnum of Champagne to pour one glass for me and if I'm lucky there will be leftovers with my breakfast orange juice. Anyway, my luck includes trying a number of fabulous Champagnes and I am not convinced that these crisps do anything to encourage the drinking of a great wine.

Top tip: if you have dinner at a swanky French restaurant and they have a dedicated Cheese Waiter: on no account refuse the cheese course. Paddington Bear's famous hard stare has nothing on that of a Cheese Waiter spurned. It's alright. When we stayed at this hotel in January 2012 we knew better than to refuse the cheese.

Savoursmiths Truffle & Rosemary

Here's a good example of a crisp that sounds utterly disgusting and turns out to be pretty good.

I really dislike truffle. I think it quite unnecessary to add such a strong musty flavour to perfectly good food and thus make it inedible. And quite a lot of my friends agree with. But I am aware that there are truffle fans out there and very likely this crisp was created with them in mind.

Now the reluctant taste testers and I have tried Torres Selecta Black Truffle crisps and most of us found them very unpleasant. Seriously not nice at all.

We also tried M&S Ever So Posh Hand Cooked Parmesan Asparagus & Truffle. That was back in 2014 (doesn't time fly, crisp fans?) Actually, they weren't too bad because basically the Parmesan flavour took over and we couldn't really pick the Asparagus or the Truffle.

Anyway, once bitten etc, so we approached these crisps with a little trepidation. And found we'd made a fuss about nothing. This is small crisp with a nice crunch (not too hard) and a gentle rosemary taste with a tiny hint of what was probably truffle. Rosemary can be a bit overpowering if not used in moderation but I recall a very nice bag of Kettle Chips Sea Salt with a Hint of Rosemary. It's not a common seasoning in crispy snacks but it can work very well.

And the reluctant taste testers, together with the Chef were pleased to approve these Truffle & Rosemary crisps.

I like the purple and green metallic colours of the packet but it took me a while to work out what the weird peacock person was up to. I thought she had her hand in a muff but it seems she is juggling giant truffles (sort of).

Savoursmiths Parmesan and Port

Masters of flavour & faber says the packet a little mysteriously. Make room for a finer set of flavours, a better breed of snack. Hmm.

Well, I'm not sure. I was in my local Waitrose checking out their selection of flowers because I had been nudged (I hesitate to say bullied because the bully is far too nice) into joining in the flower festival at our local church. One of our local churches; we have 2 huge churches (and a largely Jewish population!). Anyway, there I was but their flowers didn't feature the colours I was looking for so I bought a packet of crisps instead. The packet does rather draw the eye don't you think?

I never saw this brand of crisps before but they must be putting themselves about. The Family Vegetarian tells me that shortly before she stopped working at the the very fancy gastropub in the next village they received a taster box of this brand. Apparently the Wagyu Beef & Honey Mustard flavour was wolfed down by the kitchen staff, and some unspecified bloke at the bar ate the bag of Parmesan & Port. But as neither other packet got eaten, the boss gave the remaining packets to the Family Vegetarian because "your husband's a chef". So watch this space for 2 more flavours.

I took this packet in to work for the reluctant taste testers to try. And I think they, and I found them a bit weird. For a start, the crisps are a bit pink. It's the Port. You don't really taste the Port that much, there's a sharp or sour taste that isn't really Port, but you really can smell it. But I don't know why you wouldn't just produce Parmesan flavour crisps?

Wouldn't that be much tastier? Because not only could the reluctant taste testers not pick this flavour; Tall taste tester thought Apple & Pork (?), and lightly Red Haired Bristolian hazarded Cheese & Chive (a little more accurate), but all of them seriously disapproved of crisps with alcohol. Not crisps with a glass of wine you understand; but crisps with added alcohol. Like Tesco Finest Limited Edition Prosecco & Elderberry Crisps. We weren't mad for them either.

Although having reported on the reactions, I can also report that almost all the crisps got eaten anyway. And the Chef started out by saying "ugh yuk" and found that he had finished a bowlful without noticing. I had one. Not for me thanks.

And just because I can, here are the flower arrangements I made for the church.